Active clinical trials for "Heart and Blood Diseases"

According to the BCLC guidelines, surgical resection of hepatocellular carcinoma complicating cirrhosis is restricted to patients with preserved liver function, single nodule without vascular invasion and with hepatic venous gradient below 10 mmHg. However, other guideline treatment, especially from eastern countries demonstrated that surgical resection is safe and feasible and provides better survival than the treatment recommended by the BCLC system for patients with similar stage. The primary goal of this study is to assess the impact of HVPG on short and long-term outcomes in HCC patients who undergo liver resection.

The objective of this study is to determine whether a simple blood test can be a useful clinical tool for monitoring aortic disease in Marfan syndrome and Marfan-related disorders.

Determine the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of vascular ultrasound, using direct and indirect ultrasonographic signs, in the obstructive diseases of iliac venous segment, in patients with advanced chronic venous insufficiency (CEAP 3-6), considering the intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) as the gold standard for this diagnosis. Develop an algorithm for noninvasive ultrasound investigation of obstructive lesions in the iliac segment in patients with advanced chronic venous insufficiency (CEAP 3-6).

Cardiac surgery leeds to a systematic inflammatory response induced by the surgical trauma and the use of the cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Activation of inflammatory cascades can cause a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) which is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Therefore, strategies to reduce the inflammatory response have a potential benefit for cardiac surgery patients. The clinical benefit of reducing proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, Il-8 and TNF-a with the use of a cytokine adsorbing circuit (Cytosorb) during CBP remains unclear. Therefore, the investigators conduct this prospective, observational pilot study to determine the clinical impact of the use of a cytokine adsorbing circuit during CBP.

This study is designed to test two hypotheses: The PADnet+ testing system produces clinically equivalent results as the Parks Flo-Lab testing system in a group of patients referred for evaluation of PAD of the limbs when performed by a Registered Vascular Technologist (RVT). The PADnet+ testing system produces clinically equivalent results when the testing is repeated on the above patients and performed by staff specifically trained on the use of the PADnet+ system but are not vascular technologists nor hold the RVT certification.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the hemodynamic values of neonates that are healthy and those with various congenital heart diseases and sepsis by using echocardiography and USCOM.

Arteriosclerosis is a common chronic disease with well known risk factors like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, adipositas and smoking, leading to severe complications like myocardial infarction, stroke or peripheral arterial occlusive disease. In addition to life-style factors there is also a genetic predisposition to develop complicated atherosclerosis. Objective: Improve individual risk prediction by clinical phenotyping and genotyping.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether chemotherapy induces regression in atherosclerotic plaques in oncologic patients already undergoing PET FDG as part of their routine assessment.We will use PET FDG to assess whether the inflammation in atherosclerotic plaques is affected by chemotherapy and anti angiogenic therapy.

Left ventricular (LV) remodeling after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has been well described in previous studies. However, there is a paucity of data on the incidence of and risk factors for LV remodeling in modern clinical practice that incorporates widespread use of acute reperfusion strategies and almost systematic use of "antiremodeling" medications, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and beta blockers. The recent improvements in AMI management do not abolish LV remodeling, which remains a relatively frequent event after an initial anterior wall AMI. As a leading cause of heart failure, postinfarction LV remodeling represents an important target for therapeutic interventions. Within the ventricular mass, size, shape, connections and orientation in a three-dimensional space of every single constituent determine its functional behavior. The complex architecture of the ventricular mass creates multiple inhomogeneities of electrical and mechanical loads at the cellular and the microscopic tissue level, that cause cardiac function to be 'stochastic in nature'. The myocardial infarction will altered the ventricular shape and functional inhomogeneities carrying the morphodynamic advantages such as impaired suction for diastole after diminishing recoil relaxation with decreased twisting strain in systole. The alteration in contractile mechanics interacts with the intraventricular fluid dynamic filed that influence the regional myocardial shearing stress. Altered LV transmural wall strains have been proposed to cause infarct extension and may have an important role in propagating LV remodeling.

Disruption of an atherosclerotic plaque is responsible for at least two-thirds of acute coronary syndrome. Thus, identification of plaques vulnerable to rupture has become important. The natural history of individual plaques is unknown and needs to be established. Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) angiography is a useful noninvasive imaging modality for assessing coronary plaque characteristics. Using MDCT, the researchers prospectively investigate the relationship between the characterization of coronary plaques and cardiovascular events in a large multicenter study.